Cruising.

We spent today on the road and arrived in late afternoon on the northern coast of California.

We saw some very pretty countryside along the way.

This adventure has reminded me of going on a cruise . . . it helps to enjoy the days at sea as much as the shore excursions. The dogs do! I think they really like being on the road.

Unlike a cruise, we don't have a room steward to clean up after us. But I'm learning to clean up pretty quickly. With such a small space -- and with everything needing to be put away before you get moving -- you can't let things pile up.

Tomorrow, a shore excursion.

We're officially defensive. Drivers, that is.

We passed! In fact, Frank said he thought he could train Ross to drive a tanker in about a week. I need some practice before I get that kind of praise. But I did fine.

We'll get certificates to prove we have the ability to get from point A to point B without endangering life and limb.

Now I want to do this full time. It really is pretty cool. We're forced to simplify our lives a little. (Although we can always find ways to complicate things . . . just like I can always find ways to add calories to whatever I eat.)

Tomorrow we head up to the coast of California, near Trinidad Bay, and hang out there for a day or two.

Masters of our Destiny.

Well, that wasn't so hard.

We had our first lesson today. Our last lesson is tomorrow. Frank, our instructor, was sweet. We both did well.

I'm glad to have had the opportunity to learn to brake and make turns in a controlled environment -- and after that I drove through some windy hill country on a two-lane road, through a small town (only driving over one curb -- oops!) and on the freeway.

I am MUCH more confident now that I can deal with this huge thing. And it was fun! I backed up around orange cones . . . and didn't knock any of them over. Who knew?

Da boyz were so confident in my abilities, in fact, that they fell asleep while I was driving.

Destiny on vacation.

We've been spending the last month fixing up the RV and getting ready to take her on a real road trip. And now we're finally doing it!

We're on our way to RV driving school in northern California. In case you're wondering how we're driving it without knowing how . . . that's not exactly what driving school is about. You don't need a special license or anything. Everyone we've talked to and every book we've read (you can imagine how many of those) says anyone who can drive can figure out how to maneuver an RV (even a big one like ours) pretty quickly, and get comfortable in just a few hours.

And, in fact, Ross has done great. He confesses to driving over a few curbs in Phoenix when we first picked her up -- but I was driving the rental car in front of him and didn't see it happen.

This is more like taking a defensive driving class. And I'm not willing to get behind the wheel until I'm in a big parking lot with nothing to hit and a professional trainer sitting next to me. Just a complete lack of confidence. This thing is HUGE!

So this is more of a safety thing than a necessity.

We started out yesterday about an hour and a half late. (Hey, this is our first trip with the dogs. It took some real effort to load everything without our escape artists running loose.)

Da boyz figured out how to get comfortable quickly. Bob settled on my lap and Slick found an upholstered chair to curl up in. So, while the wheels were moving, it really was like a big version of our Mexico road trip in the Tundra. They enjoy being with us all day.

We stopped at a Walmart along the way for some supplies -- mostly food. We decided to experiment with leaving the dogs alone. They were calm when we got back and nothing had been chewed, so it looks like we're going to be able to handle it if we go out to eat or something. Yay.

I made dinner on our little stove last night. Everything is sort of Barbie-size. We have a double sink, but each side barely holds a plate.

Eating with dogs in the RV is a bit of a challenge because the dinette table is a lot more accessible than our dining room table at home. The benches allow them to jump up next to us. They really don't know how to stay off furniture. But we finally persuaded them to stay on the floor.

And we all managed to find our own space on the queen-size bed to settle in. It helped that da boyz were exhausted.

Today we're staying at the RV park on the Rogue River in Grants Pass, Oregon. The RV is backed up right to the river. I'm hoping it warms up a little this afternoon so we can take a walk along it.

On the road.

We're about to leave Chowchilla, California. We picked up "Our Destiny" on Friday and have been getting to know her ever since.

Some things aren't working . . . but it's likely because we don't understand everything yet. There was a lot of documentation of appliances, etc., but nothing about running the actual motor home. We're figuring out things as we go. We have an appointment to get it completely checked out in Seattle on Monday, along with an orientation. We're really looking forward to having some mysteries resolved!

We're meeting Karin, Mike and Corey in Eugene tonight. I'll write again soon!

We bought an RV on eBay!

Woohoo! We won! We won!

We won the right to spend thousands of dollars on this 1997 RV. We need to go to Phoenix to pick it up . . . but such a deal.

Coo-ba Libre

Yesterday, Ross and I went RV shopping. All the RVs for sale in the whole world are in Fife, Washington -- between here and Tacoma on I-5.

On the way there, we stopped at a chain restaurant called Bahama Breeze. They were playing calypso music, which reminded me of Harry Belafonte, which reminded me of our music "system" when I was a kid.

I don't know what to call that particular piece of furniture. It had a big radio that squealed between stations. We typically heard this squawk on Sunday mornings, while Daddy was tuning in Dr. DeHaan on the Radio Bible Class from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

We called it "The Radio," but I'm pretty sure there was also a record player in it. The records my parents played included Harry Belafonte (Day-O, aka The Banana Boat Song), Victor Borge (phonetic punctuation) and The Nutcracker Suite. I still have this particular one. I stole it when I got my own record player that could play LPs -- and took it with me to college and beyond. When I was small, I'd dance around the house to the music all year long. I had no idea it was meant to be a Christmas thing. I think I had a little girl crush on the beautiful blonde woman on the album cover.

What other records did my parents own? I don't remember. Maybe a sibling can help me out with this.

The cabinet that held these wonders was huge (or, anyway, it's huge in my memory). If I had been naughty and was told to stand in the corner, the corner made by The Radio and the wall was the one I stood in. So that means it was taller than I was.

The Radio was a symbol of both delight and terror. Yeah, I'm exaggerating again. I was embarrassed by having to stand in the corner, but not terrified.

The music we heard yesterday also reminded me of Lucy and Desi. We recently watched The Long, Long Trailer and it's still very funny. He's very Coo-ban.

Which brings us back to to the whole RV shopping trip. We learned a few things. I learned how much I dislike being sold. It's a little distressing to realize how much I prefer to buy things from people I like. I wish I could be more rational than that. Better yet is buying from no one in particular -- by which I mean "on the Internet." So we're putting in a bid on an RV on eBay today. If it works, we'll get a much better deal, without the aggravation of working with a salesperson.

Best of all would be not having to go halfway to Coo-ba to pick it up. But that's a trade-off I'm willing to make.

Wish us luck!